Railroad-track.



No. 68!,567. Patented Aug. 27, l90l. 6. H. Mc-DERMOTT.

RAILBUAD TRACK.

(Application filed Apr. 28,- 1901.)

(No llodel.)

. WITNESSES A TTORNEYS m; mm: manna. wowuna. wuumnron, o. a

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES HENRY MGDERMOTT, OF DULUTH, MINNESOTA.

RAILROAD-TRACK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 681,567, dated August 27, 1901. Application filed April 23, 1901. Serial No. 57,130. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES HENRY Mo- DERMOTT, of Duluth, in the county of St. Louis and State of Minnesota, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Railroad- :glracks, of which the following is a specificaion.

My invention is an improvement in railroad-tracks, and has for an object a simple, economical, and durable construction designed for use in place of the ordinary wooden cross-ties; and the invention consists in certain novel constructions and combinations of parts, as will be hereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawings, Figure l is a perspective view of a section of track embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a cross-section on about line 2 2 of Fig. 1; and Fig. 3 is a detail View of a portion of the tie-bar, one of the end sections being shown detached.

As shown, the track includes sleepers A in the form of fiat plates, of steel, iron, or other suitable metal, such plates being preferably flat and of sufficient width to form a broad bearing upon the ground or other bed. Ordinarily it will be sufficient to make the plates of a width about three times that of the base B of the rail 13. The plates A may be made of any suitable length and for. use on curves may be formed to coincide with the curvature of the rail. It will be also understood that the length, width, and thickness of i the sleeper-plates may be made to suit the road on which they are to be used. I provide the plates A with depending teeth or pins 0 to enter the ground or other road-bed, such pins being preferably pointed at C. By preference the teeth 0 are arranged in rows extending longitudinally of the plates A near The purpose of these pins is to their outer edges to the plate and overlap ping at their inner edge the base B of the rail, as best shown in Figs. 1 and 2. These plates E extend nearlyto the joint of the rails, and between the ends of the plates I pro vide the joint-plates F, which lap the joints G and are bolted at F to the sleeper-plates and at F to the rails, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The tie or connecting rods H extend be tween the opposite sleeper-plates A and are firmly secured thereto by bolting, as shown at H. In the specific construction shown the rods H are composed of metal bars set vertically edgewise and fitting and bolted at e" in sockets I in the inner ends of brackets I, which are formed with broadened heads 1 which spread out over the sleeper-plates and are bolted thereto at H and extend up over and lap upon the rail-holding plates E, as shown. The bar H fits in the sockets I of the brackets I and extends outwardly at 7b beneath the sleeper-plates, usually to the outer edges thereof, as shown. The tie-bars operate to hold the opposite sleeper-plates in position and prevent any spreading of the rails. By this invention I avoid the necessity of using spikes, as all the parts are bolted together.

It will be understood that in swampy country, where there is danger of the track heaving,the sleeper-plates may be bolted at intervals to what is known in railroad building as a dead-man, being a log or piece of timber sunk in the ground. Also in mountainous country and on curves a dead-man could be employed to prevent the track from sliding or spreading.

A track constructed as shown and before described will be durable and last a long time and will not need much repairing.

The sleepers A are provided on their under sides with longitudinal plates J, arranged at their middles and operating to strengthen the sleeper and prevent its lateral movement when resting on the ground. I also provide at K an upright guard-plate by which to prevent derailment in case the wheels should leave the rail, being especially useful on bridges. I prefer to provide the plate K with abase-flange K,he1d to the sleeper by the nuts receiving the pins 0.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The herein described improvement in railroad-tracks comprising the broad flat sleeper plates provided at their opposite edges with rows of depending teeth, the rails on said plates, the rail-holding plates and railjoint plates bolted at one edge to the sleeperplates and lapped at the other edge upon the bases of the rails, and the tie connections composed of the cross-bars extending beneath the opposite sleeper-plates and the end brackets socketed to receive and bolted to said crossbars and having flattened portions lapped upon the sleeper and rail-holding plates and secured substantially as set forth.

2. The combination of the sleeper-plates, the cross connection having end brackets provided with portions lapping upon the said plates and with sockets, and the bar held in said sockets and extending beneath the sleeper-plates substantially as set forth.

3. The combination of the broad flat sleeperplate provided with depending teeth or pins and the crossconnection composed of the socketed end brackets having portions lapped upon and secured to the sleeper-plates and the bar held in the sockets of the end brackets and extending beneath the sleeper-plates substantially as set forth.

4. In atrack substantially as described, the combination, of the sleeper-plates, means for securing the rails thereon, the cross connection having tie-bars, and brackets provided with sockets to fit the said cross-bars, and with top plates to lap upon the sleeper-plates, the cross-bar being extended beyond the socketed portions of the brackets and beneath the top plates thereof, whereby the sleeper plates Will lie between the top plates of the bracket and the extended ends of the crossbar, substantially as set forth.

CHARLES HENRY lllCDERlllO'lT.

Witnesses W. F. PETTIBONE, W. J. BISHOP. 

